A/N:
You know what they say - a tradition starts with the third time you do something. In the two previous years I've been posting Christmas Calendars for you guys, and I'm not gonna let this year slide by without one either. In 2014 I played around with Naruto and Konoha, in 2015 with Bleach and Las Noches, and this year, I will let you spend Christmas with all of your favorite Survey Corps / Scout Regiment in the Attack on Titan world.

This is my Christmas gift for you, but although it will be told from December 1st to Desember 25th, I will give you this prolog to give you a taste of what will come.

Disclaimer:
«I do not own any of the following pictures, music, characters or the original universe. Nor do I own the Christmas Calendar or its content. I only own this Christmas story and the mixing idea.»

For practical purposes, Hange Zoë will be referred to with female pronouns. The character's gender has not been confirmed by the creator, so there is still a mystery about what is the truth of it. However, because it is hard to write around the pronouns, I chose the female gender because this is what they used for the English dub of the Anime. I hope that you all understand my reasoning for this, and that if you have another opinion on the gender, you can still replace the pronouns while reading.

PROLOUGUE - November 17th

"Shouldn't we be able to see it by now?" The voice of the scientist ripped through the otherwise silence that laid as a heavy blanket over the the vast, empty plain. "We've been riding for several hours now. I thought you said we'd be able to get there before lunch."

Although she tried her best to hide it, there were still layers of irritation seeping through her words. Hange Zoë was well aware of this, but she much preferred the irritation to shine through, rather than everything else she was feeling. Although she rarely showed it, the eccentric scientist wasn't always as carefree as she let her fellow soldiers know. There were many dangers in the world they were living in - and especially outside the walls. Normally it would seem like she thought of each mission as an adventure, but although that had been the truth when she first joined the Scout Regiment, as she learned the truth, she had changed. Still, she couldn't let that be known. If she showed signs of doubt or fear, there would be no way to motivate the endless stream of new recruits. With that in mind, Hange put on her wild and whimsical self; painfully aware that each and every day would bring death to those around her.

"Yes, we should reach it soon," Armin, riding on the close left side of the squad leader, carefully loosened his right hand's grip and let go of the horse's mane. Using his now free hand, the boy unfolded and looked down upon the map fastened to his leg. "Yes, it should be in sight in any sec-"

"There!" Mike Zacharias shouted, pointing ahead.

Armin looked up from the old map and looked in the direction his squad leader was pointing. There, on the horizon, they could glimpse a couple dark silhouettes.

"Are you sure?" Hange rode up to her comrade, squinting, as her eyes tried to take in the details.

Those closest to him could hear the sound of sniffing, before Mike nodded to himself and continued: "I'm positive. It's clay and wood, burned materials, and gunpowder that-"

"Wait," Hange bursted out. "Burned?"

"Yes," Mike nodded. "Mostly wood. Although," he added as he spotted the worried wrinkles spreading across Hange's brow, "It's not recent. More likely, it's the remains from the soldiers that were once stationed here."

Hange nodded, but the alternative frightened her. They had set out as the sun sent its first rays of sun down the walls of the castle. It had been decided the previous night that they should set up another base, and Commander Erwin Smith had decided to send Hange and Mike out to the west, while Levi was to take his special operations squad down east. The objective for both groups were to seek out the previously used bases and camps in available areas outside the Walls. With the number of titans growing, he had decided that now was the time to move camp, to keep a better eye on the situation.

This was all well enough, but Hange still wasn't sure that this was the right decision. Although the base was located a little distance from where they usually scouted, there was a reason why it had been chosen. The tall wall of thick stone provided great shelter as well as protection in case of an attack. Leaving the fort, and settling in a smaller base, would just make them more vulnerable and give them no place to barricade themselves if overpowered by the Titans.

But there was nothing Hange could do with that. It had been an order, and although she was outspoken, she knew that Erwin most likely had thought this through many times. So, before she had gone to sleep that night, the squad leader had called together those that would make up her team.

In addition to the bright Armin Arlert, the scientist had brought along Jean Kirstein. The boy was a bit of a troublemaker, but she could definitely see the potential in him to become a leader. That, the scientist noted, was if he could keep his attention on the mission.

She had thought it through before picking them, but even though it could be a distraction to the boy, she had gone ahead and brought along the girl as well. Although Hange had seen many fine soldiers in during her years, Mikasa Ackerman came out as one of the finest. To be honest, there had been many times when the squad leader had been lying awake at night; pondering and debating back and forth how a battle between the girl and 'humanity's strongest soldier' himself would go.

She sighed. It was something that she would probably never get an answer to. If those two went all out on each other, then the world would be as good as doomed - at least in the eyes of Commander Erwin. No, there would be no battle of the beasts. Or, she smiled to herself, such a sight might be possible if times got hard and there was little food. Cause, although Hange had just made acquaintances with Sasha Blouse, there was something about the fun-loving girl that just couldn't be seen as anything but ferral. Her instinct seemed to be especially sharp, and she had brought her along to let Mike - who himself had a remarkably good sense of smell - gain more intel on the girl's ability. For the same reason, she had picked Bertolt Hoover. The boy's files had marked him as highly proficient in various hand-to-hand combat styles, but there was a lack of assertiveness. Hange had yet to get her own take on the recruit, and this scouting could be a good place to start.

"I'll go around and secure the back." Mike shouted, as he laid his horse to the right. "Bertolt, follow me."

"Have fun!" Hange called after them, before turning to the rest of the group. "As for the rest of you, stay close. We don't know what might meet us."

"Right!"

They approached the old stone building, and as they did, they grew optimistic. While not a fort, the base was still pretty decently built. Hange eased her shoulders and, glancing back, she could see others do the same.

"It might not be that bad..." Hange mumbled to herself, as she let her hand trace the stone wall, admiring the lack of cracks.

"Well, I don't think he'll agree."

"Hm?"

Beside her, her blonde partner let his own hand run over the surface of a table. "It will take several rounds of scrubbing before it could be considered liveable."

"No, don't say that. I don't wanna clean," came wailing from the next room, and soon, Sasha's sad face appeared, looking at them through the doorway. "It's gonna take forever, and it's already pretty late."

"We still have time," Mike informed her. "But, I agree with you. Cleaning up this place would take days, and besides, the Captain will most likely go over it himself."

"True. But we should look through the building for supplies."

"Jean is inspecting the stables. Bertolt and Mikasa are still going through the upstairs together. This floor is checked as well. All that remains is the basement. I sent Armin down there earlier, but he hasn't reported to me since.

"Really? That's interesting." Hange was already on her way to the basement when she looked back over her shoulder. "Sasha, join me downstairs."

"I can't see anything." Sasha complained as the three of them reached the bottom of the stairs. There was no source for natural light, and the candle she was holding in her hand barely lit up the area around her. "Armin?"

No one answered. Sasha was about to try calling out for him again, but before she could do so, a bright light blinded her.

"There," Hange grinned. In her hand she was holding a powerful flashlight.

Sasha was about to ask her superior where she had hid the light, but something caught her attention.

In the middle of a pile of books sat Armin.

"Armin," she walked over to him and shook his shoulder. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just found this."

"What is it?" she looked down on what her friend was holding in his hands.

"I think I've heard about something like it…" Armin studied the piece of art in front of him. "It's some kind of cultural artifact or tool. I remember seeing a picture of a similar one in a book from Grandpa..."

"Your grandfather?" Mike raised his brow.

"Oh, just drop it, Mike." Hange said "It's not like you're gonna report the old man. It was a stupid law, if you ask me. Hiding knowledge." She let out a snort as she turned and buried her head in another set of boxes. "And they say I'm the crazy one."

The tall man sighed, shaking his head as he as well, turned back to the dusty boxes.

"So, what is that thing?" Leaning over his shoulder, Sasha looked down on the pretty picture. "And what are those? Angels?"

"I think it's called an 'Advent Calendar'"

"A what?"

"It's a special calendar used to count or celebrate the days in anticipation of an old holiday called 'Christmas'. If I'm not wrong, many take the form of large rectangular cards with "windows" of which there are usually 24: one for each day of December, leading up to Christmas Day." He moved his finger and traced along the print of pale numbers. "The doors are opened starting with the first one. Consecutive doors are opened every day leading up to Christmas. The calendar windows open to reveal an image, poem, a portion of a story or a small gift, such as a toy or a piece of chocolate."

"CHOCOLATE!"

It was all Armin could do to keep the calendar in his arms.

"No! Sasha! Stop it!"

"What's going on?" Mike hurried over to them. Seeing what all the commotion was about, he couldn't help but sigh. "It's time we headed back. Sasha, go upstairs and tell Bertolt, Jean, and Mikasa to prepare for the journey."

"But…" she let out a sigh. "Yes, sir."

Armin watched as Sasha, followed by Mike and Hange, left the basement. When he was sure none of them were watching, he went over to an old wooden chest.

"It should be safe here," he mumbled to himself as he placed the calendar inside before closing the chest. "Desember will come in two weeks… I'll be back for you then."

A/N:
That's it for now, BUT I would love to hear from you guys:
What do you think? and what do you espect of it?
Have you read any of my previous Calendar stories? or any other Calendar stories?

Please leave a review with your thoughts, okay?

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